2012 Northeast Recreational Boater Survey

A Socio-economic and Spatial Characterization of Recreational Boating in Coastal and Ocean Waters of the Northeast United States

Power of Partners

A partnership among industry, government, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) conducted this survey of marine recreational boaters from Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York during the 2012 boating season.

Economic Analyses

Activities on the Water

Boaters indicated what activities they did while boating, including swimming, whale watching and fishing. The most sought after species while fishing was striped bass.

Why Was the Survey Conducted?

The ocean is a busy place. To avoid conflicts as new projects are proposed, like offshore wind turbines or fish farms, we have to know what is happening there now, like boating.

Boating Industry: Outstanding Partners

Marine Trades Associations and individual boating-related businesses were key partners in this survey by providing partial funding for the survey, facilitating data collection and reviewing the results.

Thank You to Survey Participants

The knowledge gained through this work would not have been possible without the participation of over 12,000 recreational boaters in this study. Thank you for being a part of this survey.

What's to See on this Site

Here you will find a sample of the survey results, a description of the effective partnership that made this work possible, downloadable products summarizing the survey, and ways to learn more.

Power of Partners

Technical Report

This report provides a comprehensive description of the survey, methodology and partners, as well as the full suite of survey results. Results include economic impact estimates, maps displaying boater activity and demographic information.

Project Summary

This 8-page summary describes the purpose of the survey, the methods employed, the key results for the Northeast, and the unique partnership of industry, government and nongovernmental organizations formed to conduct the work.

State Summary Sheets

These 4-page summaries present 2012 Northeast Recreational Boater Survey results specific to Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York. For details on the methodology and results specific to the entire Northeast, see Project Summary.